Summation

110 blog postings in 35 months…some interesting conversations in the comments section…a couple of new friends…

Looking back, I realize I haven’t been a very active blogger, in part because I never really got the hang of it. Many of my posts were more like op-eds than conventional blogs. It took me a couple of hours or more to write many of them. Some I lost between the writing and the publishing, causing me great frustration.

I’ve received a few hostile comments – but not as many as you might expect considering the controversial subject matter. It’s been my policy to let them all through except for the spam and one or two that contained offensive sexual references.

But I’m no longer running NYADP (the very capable and effective Barbara Smith has taken over as interim director) and, to be honest, I’ve run out of things to say. So it’s time to say goodbye.

In 1998, at the conclusion of my brother’s capital trial, I told one of my brother’s attorneys that I wanted to devote myself to working against the death penalty. “Don’t waste your time, David,” he responded. “We can save lives one at a time at the trial level, but there’s too much public support for the death penalty to imagine it ending in our lifetimes.”

However, since then five states have abolished the death penalty. Use of the death penalty elsewhere had dropped dramatically, even in Texas. One doesn’t have to be a dreamer to imagine a land where the spilling of blood isn’t followed by more spilling of blood; where our cultural response to violence is driven less by vengeance toward the perpetrator than by true and sustained compassion for the victim.

I plan to stay involved at NYADP and to continue participating in one of its signature post-abolition programs: Limits of Loyalty. NYADP’s work after New York ended its death penalty was truly the joyous and hopeful part for me. Limits of Loyalty focuses on a vision shared by victims of violence, by former gang members who’ve come awake, by members of law enforcement who recognize that the old strategies aren’t working – and, above all, by school children thirsting for hope, amazed to see a diverse group of adults willing to speak honestly about their mistakes, sorrows, challenges, and hopes for a better world. You can support that ongoing work by visiting www.nyadp.org.

BTW, Linda and I have left Schenectady and now live at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Buddhist monastery near Woodstock, NY. You can reach me via email at davidk@kagyu.org.

Thanks to Michael Huber for inviting me to blog, and thanks to YOU for reading!

5 Responses

David, Thanks for the farewell summary and for the Merle Haggard song about leaving the city!

I have the same style of writing my blog that you’ve had, although I’ve been doing it longer. I tend to research the material and spend time making it as coherent and informative as possible (succeeding better sometimes than I do at other times.) But I don’t consider this a problem, just a different way of using the blog space.

Hope that your first farewell celebration in NYC last night went well and that you received the appreciation that you deserve for your work. Thanks for leaving us a contact email and letting us know where on the planet you currently can be found.

David. It’s been a real pleasure to read your opinions in this blog. I often cited you as an example of how a blogging platform can be used to elucidate major issues confronting our nation. I’ve recently begun reading Doris Kearns Goodwin’s ‘Team of Rivals’ and the historical figures in the first few chapters remind me of people like you, who are out front, maybe by decades, on issues that shame our nation.
Best wishes for a peaceful time at the monastery. I hope to see you again on one of your trips upstate. Thanks for all you’ve done. Mike